The Supreme Court has ordered the local governments of Kaski to remove all structures that have encroached upon the major lakes in the district. Over a dozen laws authorize local governments to protect and preserve the lakes in their respective areas. Since the construction of a check dam in Fewa Lake in 1999, various laws and policies relating to lake protection, environmental conservation, land reformation, irrigation, agriculture, biodiversity, climate change, and wetland conservation have been drafted. Additionally, all eight lakes in the Pokhara Valley have received Ramsar site status. However, encroachment around the lakes has continued unabated. Since the political change in 2006, the Supreme Court has issued over a dozen orders to the government to remove illegal structures built on lake areas. Similarly, the Constitution of Nepal, 2015 empowers local governments to preserve lakes and other natural resources in their respective areas. However, despite more than half a decade since the promulgation of the constitution, encroachments in Fewa Lake remain unabated.

Disappointed by the indifference of the people’s representatives to the preservation of Fewa Lake, civil society in Pokhara has begun to join forces to voice their concerns against the encroachment of lakes in the Pokhara Valley. Recently, they have been putting pressure on the government almost daily. “We have approached the local government many times before, drawing their attention to the encroachment of lakes, but they seem unresponsive,” said Ram Bahadur Poudel, founder coordinator of Civil Society Kaski. “There are strong laws and policies to preserve the lake, but dozens of hotels and restaurants continue to spring up on the lake shores, encroaching upon the lake area.”

The Pokhara Valley is home to several large and small lakes, including Khaste, Gudey, Neureni, Maidi, and Dipang, along with Fewa, Begnas, and Rupa, which are popular among visitors. Civil society and other stakeholders have launched numerous campaigns to save these lakes. They have published more than two dozen press releases, held meetings with mayors and ward chairs dozens of times, and run joint campaigns to clean up the lakes in collaboration with social organizations such as youth clubs, women’s groups, and cooperatives. “We will not give up our campaign until illegal structures built on the lake area are removed,” said Bishnu Hari Adhikari, a leader of Civil Society Kaski. Local residents say that encroachment on Fewa Lake has increased further after the metropolis introduced a new rule allowing people to use land near the lake shores for agricultural purposes. Under the guise of starting agricultural ventures, unscrupulous individuals have developed land plots on over 300 ropani of Fewa Lake’s land in just three months, according to Liladhar Poudel, chairperson of the District Coordination Committee, Kaski, and coordinator of the Fewa Watershed Area Monitoring Committee. Under mounting pressure, Pokhara Mayor Dhana Raj Acharya has stated that the metropolis will not compromise on the preservation of Fewa Lake. “We are preparing strong guidelines to prevent encroachment on the lake,” he added. However, civil society leaders say they do not believe in mere lip service. “We have been hearing commitments like this for many years. What we want now is implementation,” said Shashi Tulachan, another leader of Civil Society Kaski. Both the constitution and the Local Government Operation Act, 2018 empower local governments to make policies regarding the protection of local resources. “However, the rules under the constitution and policies have overlapped in many ways, resulting in delays in implementing strong policies,” said Kalpana Devkota, CEO of the Gandaki Province Office of Lake Conservation and Development Authority.